Johannesburg, Nov. 7 (Lusa) - The African Development Bank (AfDB), Portugal and Portuguese-language countries in Africa are on Wednesday in South Africa to sign a financing agreement aimed at promoting private economic development in those African states, all of which are members of the Community of Portuguese-Language Countries (CPLP).
An AfDB official told Lusa that the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the ‘Development Finance Compact for the Lusophone Countries of Africa’ would be done at the Africa Investment Forum, organised by the AfBD, which is taking place until Friday in Johannesburg.
This multilateral initiative will be operational from 1 January 2019 and aims to accelerate and "strengthen the role of the private sector in advancing sustainable and inclusive development in Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOPs)”, building on financing instruments that the AfBD, Portugal and other partners already have available.
Taking part in the signing ceremony will be Portugal’s secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Teresa Ribeiro, acting as substitute governor for Portugal at the African Development Bank, and Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, the AfDB’s president, as well as government representatives from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, and Equatorial Guinea – the latter being the CPLP's newest member state.
The Africa Investment Forum, which is organised by BAFD in partnership with the government of Gauteng, the province where Johannesburg is located and the main engine of South Africa’s economy, will bring together in the city for the first time government entities, financial institutions and the private sector with a view to boosting investment in Africa.
The AfDB estimated in a recent report that financing of some $700 billion dollars (€612 billion) a year is needed to meet the continent's development needs.